Control
by NintendoGal55
Summary: Companion fic to "Hypnotizing Helga" by SuprSingr. Arnold tries to control himself during class from giving in to his love and growing passion toward Helga, with difficulty. Takes place during Chapter 10, after recess, before lunchtime.


**To you, SuprSingr:**

**I freaking LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE your fic "Hypnotizing Helga", which is exactly what this companion fic is! I said this before, and I shall do so again once more. I started to read it...um...I forget back when, but the point is, I did! And I thought it was a great story. So of course, I wanted to keep it close and read it upon it being updated. As I read it, I got more and more hooked. :D It was such an interesting story and I was really enjoying the developing relationship between Arnold and Helga, despite the hypnotized aspect. It was especially awesome how Arnold was falling in love with her, and even after she was no longer hypnotized, he was STILL in love with her. That, to me, was epic true love.**

**You know what did it for me? Lovesick Arnold. Chapter 7 was definitely the tipping point, and I had just gone from hooked on a great story, to just squealing with excitement when I'd read it. And after that, seeing Arnold all lovesick, yet still in character, over Helga, it just...well, it made me so happy. It really did. Because here's Helga, in love with him all this time, and then to see Arnold, whom she loves, just love her on that same vein, it just made me smile and touched my heart so much. Of course you know I'm in love with this pairing. OwO And you portray a lovesick Arnold so well! It's so super special awesome.**

**So basically, what I'm saying is, I love your fic. I will be sad when it's over, but I'm looking forward to how it all turns out. :D And I truly hope you will write more stuff of those two after. I beg of you! OwO**

**Good luck with it!**

**This is for you. A little companion fic to "Hypnotizing Helga", it takes place during Chapter 10. After recess, during class, before lunch. I suggest you people read the fic before you read this. It contains spoilers.**

Arnold walked with as much composure as possible as he headed back to class after recess had ended. Though deep down, he could feel his control slowly slipping. Not that he hadn't over the course of the entire morning, since the little incident in the dumpster.

The blonde boy heaved a soft sigh, wondering how he was going to make it through the rest of the day like this. It had been such a long, eventful day, and it wasn't even lunchtime! Still, not to say it wasn't bad or anything. In fact, it was quite good. It was more than good.

But of course, it was SO good, that it was bad.

This wasn't going well.

_You can do this, Arnold. Stay in control. Wait until tonight. After tonight, if Helga accepts your love, you can touch her, hug her, kiss her...._ His mind wandered off and the lovesick smile came to his face, his heart pounding like a jackhammer.

Upon seeing Mr. Simmons' classroom, Arnold shook his head frantically to get back to reality, and took a deep breath. This was it. He just had to get through class until lunch, and then after lunch, then more class, and then before he knew it, school would be over, and he would be one step closer to his goal of confessing his true feelings to his love.

Once more, the thought of it crossed his mind and he nearly melted at the idea when of course, the very object of his mind had then come up beside him as she too, was heading for class.

"Excuse me, football head." Helga said, though she was saying it on a more level tone than with spite and insult. "Your daydreaming will have to wait until AFTER you get out of the way of the door."

"H-Huh? O-Oh, right. Sorry Helga." Arnold stepped aside and gave a sheepish smile. "Um...ladies first."

Helga smiled at him. "Good to know chivalry isn't dead." She winked at him and then walked into class.

Arnold stared after her a moment, the lovesick, half-lidded look was back on his face full force, and he even caught himself about to sigh dreamily as he drunk in her lovely appearance when-

"OW!"

Gerald was at his side in a flash, pulling him into the classroom. "You were doin' it again man, with that look."

"Thanks, Gerald." Arnold said, and sat in his seat. He took a deep breath and waited patiently for class to begin as Mr. Simmons was writing down some things on the board.

"You can do it, man. Remember, I'm right here by your side." Gerald told him from the seat next to him, giving him a thumbs up.

"I hope so." Arnold said, keeping his voice low so that Helga wouldn't hear him.

"Like I said, I'm right here to help." Gerald grinned. "I've got your back."

Arnold took another breath, and turned his attention to Mr. Simmons as he was now getting the the class to work on History. That sounded good, it was perfect to keep his mind off everything.

Pencil in hand, notebook open, he was ready, ready to focus.

"-with the open wastelands between the trenches that came to be known as No Man's Land, stretching for several miles at a time between both lines of the armies and their opponents..."

A little piece of paper landed on his desk then. Puzzled, he looked behind him, to see that Phoebe had taken the seat behind him, much to his relief. Helga was seated diagonally away, and was writing something in her own notebook, briefly glancing up at Mr. Simmons to take in what he was saying, and then jotting something down again. He smiled, she looked so cute when she was concentrating and taking notes. Especially now with her hair down...

"Ow!" Arnold uttered in a whisper as Gerald hit him in the head.

"Sorry man, you were doin' it again." Gerald told him.

Shaking his head, Arnold then took the piece of folded paper and studied it for a moment before unwrapping it.

_**Hey, football head. **_

_**Having a ball learning all this history? **_

_**I hope you are. Because watching you write and pay attention like a good and obedient schoolboy is cute. :)**_

_**H. G. P. **_

_**P.S. Helga for president! ;D**_

And there was a little heart next to her name. Arnold blushed a little as he read her innocent, quirky, and flirty note. He even chuckled a little as he read the little P.S. On the bottom. She was too cute.

"Arnold? Are you all right?" Mr. Simmons then asked.

"H-Huh?" Arnold looked up at him. "Oh, uh, yeah, I'm fine. Sorry, I was just...uh, thinking of something that made me laugh a little. Sorry about that."

Mr. Simmons smiled in understanding and then went back to the lesson.

Arnold sighed softly in relief, and looked back at Helga, who was no looking at him. He gave a shaky smile and waved at her in a friendly manner. She smirked and blew him a kiss, winking at him. His eyes widened with surprise at her little gesture, and he blushed, before allowing a lovesick smile to cross his face and he continued to gaze at her lovingly.

_Helga, once my nemesis but now the angel of my heart, I could just-_

"Ow!" Arnold turned back around, snapping out his reverie, facing Gerald with an annoyed yet thankful look.

"You were staring AT her with that look, man. Two big no-nos." Gerald said, wagging his finger scoldingly.

"All right then, class! I want you all to take..." Mr. Simmons looked at his watch. "About twenty minutes to read over chapters 3 and 4 of your history books, and you can answer these questions on this very special questionnaire! Now, who would like to pass these out?"

Nobody moved. Then Helga's hand shot up, which surprised everyone since she rarely ever passed out papers voluntarily. Mr. Simmons smiled and called on her, and she came to the front to get the papers. Taking them, she went around the class and placed one on each desk, looking just as cool and casual as can be.

Oh yes, this was all part of her plan.

Coming to where Arnold's desk was, Helga hid a smirk and then "stumbled", which caused her to accidentally on purpose drop the papers.

"Oh no, I dropped the papers." She said nonchalantly.

Gerald palmed his face in disbelief, and Phoebe giggled in her seat. He heard Phoebe's giggles and cast a glance at her. She looked back at him and smiled, waving at him.

"Hi, Gerald." She said sweetly.

"Hey, Phoebe!" Gerald grinned, now forgetting about what he was supposed to do.

"Here Helga, let me help you." Arnold got out of his seat and started to help her pick up the papers.

Hey, it was a perfect cover up to get close to her, right? She dropped the papers near his desk, and everyone knew, since he was Arnold, that he would of course get out and help her. It was perfect.

Oh, wait. He just remembered his having to keep his self-control in check.

"Oh, thanks, football head." Helga said, getting on her knees and picking the papers up too. All the while, moving closer to him.

She was so close, he could smell her. The sweet scent of vanilla radiating off her, and the sweet floral scent of her hair, something he hadn't quiet caught on to before. She smelled so nice...

Arnold gave a small sniff to her hair, hoping she wouldn't notice, and gave a little lovesick sigh that though was inaudible, still was caught by her ears. Oh yes, it was all going according to plan.

"OW!"

Gerald strikes again!

Arnold stood back up, half the pile of papers in his hand, which he handed to Helga. "Um, here..."

"Thanks a ton, hair boy." Helga said coolly, and then winked at him as she placed one on his desk and then moved on.

"Sure..." Arnold murmured, sitting back in his chair. He took another breath and then tried to busy himself with the questions on the paper.

And then another slip of paper was tossed onto his desk. He tried to ignore it, deciding to look at it maybe a little later. Arnold read his history book, trying to immerse himself in what he was supposed to be doing right now, as well as everyone else. It was so quiet, except for Curly's light chuckles in the back of the class as he was obviously scheming something.

Arnold looked at the folded paper again, feeling the urge to read it. But no, he couldn't! Not yet! He couldn't let himself fall under her spell!

He picked it up and read it.

_**You're real cute Arnold, has anyone ever told you that? You look a little disoriented, football head.**_

_**Having trouble concentrating? Awww...perhaps maybe later at lunch I can rub your shoulders to ease the tension off you. I'm sure you could use a little pampering. ;)**_

_**XOXOX**_

_**You know who I am, you dolt. Doi!**_

Once more, the football-headed boy blushed bright pink at her flirty note, which in turn, was making it harder for him to control himself and focus. Was she TRYING to make him confess before tonight? God knows he wanted to, but he wanted it to be special, romantic, what she clearly deserved. It was going to be a dream come true for her, and that's what he wanted her to think of it as.

He thought this earlier, and was sure thinking it now.

It was going to be a long day.

Still, he knew he had to keep himself in check. If he could control himself, at least to a level of not going crazy, with Ruth, Lila, Miss Felter, Summer, all those other girls he'd crushed on, then he could certainly control himself now!

But of course, unlike those other girls, he wasn't even in love. Not like he thought.

_This is real._ Arnold thought, gripping his pencil as he tapped the lead point against his notebook, and scribbled a bit in thought. _I'm in love with Helga, and I'm having more trouble keeping in control than I ever had been! If a simple crush could turn me into a bumbling idiot, then look at what being in love is doing! _

This was not going well. He had to do SOMETHING, anything, to keep his mind off of his love for at least until school was out. But that was already proving to be impossible. Even back when he didn't know how he felt, heck, even before, she always found her way into his mind. And still did just so, only now...ten times more than he could have possibly ever expected.

Arnold continued to scribble in his notebook, laying his free hand against his cheek to prop his head as he tried to think about something else. Anything! He scribbled blindly, sighing to himself.

Gerald then pinched him on the arm.

"Ow! Gerald!" Arnold whispered. "Why did you do that?!"

"You might want to stop doodling there, man." Gerald said, and off Arnold's confused look, he pointed at his notebook.

Arnold looked down at his notebook, seeing that he had written Helga's name quite a few times, along with lots of hearts, little round heads with pigtailed hair and bows on top of their heads, little football-shaped faces next to them. Including a big heart in the centre of it all, with an arrow through it, with the words _Arnold & Helga Forever_ written inside of it.

Quickly he shut his notebook and placed it aside. "Thanks, Gerald."

"Just doin' my job, Arnold." Said Gerald, and went back to his reading.

This was bad. So very bad. Why, oh why, did being in love have to affect him so much like it did? Why couldn't he hide it and control it, somewhat, like Helga could?

That was just it. He was, by nature, a very expressive boy about things he was passionate about. Being in love, which was something he too, longed for a lot more than he let on, was just the icing on the cake of what he wanted to express when he felt it. Sure, his past crushes had not been actual love, but they did contain the same feeling of seeing someone in a special way, and making sure they knew it. Loving someone was a great feeling, it was a beautiful thing. It wasn't just being in love. It was loving being in love.

It was indeed mysterious, love. Love was so strange, not even the greatest of scientists and philosophers could define it. It was so mysterious, so unexpected. It just made you realize how much it was, when you felt it yourself.

This was real love, and Arnold knew it by now. As young as he was, he knew it was true. His past "love" interests had all been because they were pretty. Lila had been different, since he appreciated aspects of her personality, but she just wasn't the right girl for him, and he knew that far better by now. They were way better off as friends.

This was WAY different. While yes, he did have a physical attraction to Helga, and thought she was really pretty in her own way no matter how she looked, but it wasn't just her looks alone that caught her attention. It was all of her. Her mind, spirit, soul. He loved her, inside and out. Even after she had reverted back to normal from being hypnotized, he did still love her. He had not, to his relief, fallen in love with an image. While she had been the real Helga, and he loved her for it, it was still not quite her in there, and he knew it. Seeing her back to normal gave him comfort. The true Helga was there, and the real Helga, the Helga behind her bullying persona, was down there, though hidden a lot of the time.

She was still, in his own words, a beautiful soul. She always had been, even in her toughest times. It had always been there, you just had to know where to look. When to look.

Arnold smiled to himself as he recalled telling that to her, even if they were in a dumpster, probably one of the most unromantic places you could think of, it was still a profound moment. Most especially, what followed after.

Their kiss.

The first kiss he had initiated, the first kiss that became mutual, the first kiss since realizing he loved her, the first kiss since her passionate smooch atop the FTi rooftop.

It wasn't the best time or the place to do that, and yet, it was so right. It had been some time since this morning that he thought about it, and boy his heart leaped as his entire body seemed to warm up. Though the kiss was short-lived, it still remained to him, a sweet moment of showing his love. Oh how soft her lips were, the way they tasted, the way she smelled upon being so close to her, the way she kissed him back...

Arnold sighed dreamily, now absent-mindedly writing in answers on the little questionnaire, not even realizing what he was writing, as he thought about their kiss, and of course, the anxious feeling of what would happen tonight, as he slipped into a daydream...

"_Arnold, dear Arnold, what was it that you wanted to tell me?" Helga asked sweetly as she stood before him in his room._

"_Helga, dear Helga...how I apologize just ever so much for keeping you waiting." Arnold said melodramatically, and took her hand. "Helga Pataki, you must know now that I, Arnold, am so in love with you! I can't hold it any longer. I love you, I love you so much!"_

"_Oh, Arnold, my love!" Helga cooed, hearts flying around her head. "Dear sweet Arnold, it is quite all right...I forgive you! Oh how I forgive you, my love!"_

_Arnold then went to her, passionately bringing her into his arms as he looked up at her with love, and need. "Helga, my beloved...allow me to kiss you."_

"_Kiss me, oh please kiss me..."_

_His lips met hers instantly, his arms tightening around her. She kissed him back, her arms around his neck, her hands playing with his hair. Oh, this felt so good..._

"_Hey Arnold! Hey Arnold! Hey Arnold!"_

"Hey Arnold!" Gerald pinched him on the arm.

"Ow!" Arnold groaned, and sighed. "...Thanks, Gerald. I needed that."

"No problem, Arnold. Good thing I stopped you, you were in la-la land again!" Gerald said, and glanced at his paper. "Um, you know, you might want to get your eraser ready." He pointed at his best friend's paper.

Arnold stared, confused, and then looked down at his paper.

He had written _Helga G. Pataki_ alongside a little heart for every answer.

The football-headed boy slouched in his seat, feeling hopeless. Gerald gave a sympathetic look and patted his best friend on the back.

"Don't worry man, you'll make it through. You've got to!"

Although he was telling that to himself, too. As happy as Gerald was for his buddy finding someone he really loved, he still, even now, knew he was going to have to get used to seeing some constant PDA, hand-holding, exchanging of love notes, giggles, the whole nine yards, between them starting tomorrow. He wanted to hug a thousand kitty cats and barf up his breakfast at the same time.

He glanced over at Phoebe, and felt a little flutter to his heart come to him.

On the brighter side, at least he would get a chance to spend more time with Phoebe.

--

Class went on for a little longer, and Arnold managed to get his mind on a fairly good track as he read his history book, and answered the questions CORRECTLY this time. So far so good. Helga was still on his mind, he forced himself NOT to look at her, but he was managing to get on a good track.

He took a breath, glad to finally feel a little more in control now.

Another slip of paper landed on his desk.

Uh-oh.

This was NOT good.

Before he could stop himself, Arnold took it, and read the note.

BIG mistake.

_**Having fun, hair boy? ;)**_

_**Nah, probably not. Since when is schoolwork ever fun? Only to nerds! ...No offense to Pheebs, of course.**_

_**But I sure know something we could be doing right now. You bet I know.**_

_**By the way, you're a great kisser, football head. I'm sure you'd like to know that, wouldn't you? ;P Heh heh, earlier on told me that much. Oh, isn't it just too bad it didn't last longer? I'm sure you know it too.**_

_**Do the words "French" and "Kiss" mean anything to you, Arnold? :3**_

Arnold's hands trembled slightly, his eyes wide at the forward flirting of her note.

_Oh no. No no no no no! I can't do this! I can't do that to her! Not right now! Not here! Not in front of everyone! No, I have to wait until tonight! I can't do this to her!_

This was NOT good.

_Huh? What's that...there's more?_

At the bottom of the paper, it read:

_**You liked our kiss, didn't you? I'm sure you know by now that all the drinks in Miriam's smoothies couldn't possibly intoxicate me like your lips do.**_

That did it.

Arnold felt something snap inside like a potato chip. All of the pent up love, passion, need, everything he felt for her then, was all coming to a head. Now just added with her flirty notes over the past hour, he wanted to go over there and kiss her passionately, to confess his love to the ENTIRE class.

He wasn't thinking straight, but he didn't care.

_That's it, I can't hold back anymore. I'm going to pour all of my love even if I have to do it front of everyone! Helga my love, I'm going to kiss you right now!_

Just as he made a move to stand up-

"OW!" He yelped loudly.

Everyone's heads shot up, looking to Arnold with great surprise and confusion. He blinked, snapping out of his reverie and determination of what he had just been about to do. Just as he had come back to reality, he noticed everyone's eyes on him, including Helga's.

"Um..." Arnold murmured.

"Arnold, are you all right?" Mr. Simmons asked from his desk. "What happened just now?"

"Oh, uh, never mind everyone! He uh...had a mosquito on his head and I was trying to kill it! And gosh dang, I missed!" Gerald lied.

Everyone stared weirdly, and then all went back to work. Arnold let out a relieved sigh and looked at his best friend. As much as he had wanted to go through with his momentary attempt, he was glad he didn't, given how much more humiliating that would have beenn.

"Thanks for that, Gerald."

"You needed it, man. I did not like that look in your eyes, no sir." Gerald said, shaking his head.

"What do you mean?" Arnold asked, worried of what he meant by that. Was his near-attempt that obvious?

"Let's just say you had a look that said 'I want to tell her so I can play kissy face'. Not good man, but don't worry, I got your back."

Arnold sighed, staring down at his history book. "This is hard, Gerald."

"Yeah man, history can be real tough sometimes." Gerald said in agreement, and went back to work.

Again the blonde boy sighed, shaking his head. He hadn't been talking about history.


End file.
